Abstract
Four different hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) coatings were deposited on poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK). Their properties in terms of surface roughness, wettability, nanoindentation, residual internal stress, adhesion, scratch resistance, friction and wear resistance were assessed.The two polymer-like carbon coatings were obtained without applying any bias voltage to the substrate. They exhibited very low hardness, Young's modulus and residual internal stress compared with what is generally achieved for diamond-like carbon films. Nonetheless, they enabled to significantly reduce wear when rubbed against an alumina ball. They also showed a very good adhesion to the PEEK substrate and a reduction of the coefficient of friction compared with that of the PEEK substrate.When the titanium layer deposited on the PEEK substrate was biased at either −50V or −100V during the deposition of the a-C:H coatings, the a-C:H coatings were harder, stiffer and more internally stressed than the two polymer-like carbon coatings. However, the a-C:H films obtained with bias voltages of −50V and −100V suffered from adhesive fracture in pull-off testing and early delamination in tribological testing. These results were assumed to be due to a titanium oxide layer which was not properly removed prior to the deposition of the hydrogenated amorphous carbon films and to the higher residual internal stress of the a-C:H films obtained with bias voltages of −50V and −100V compared with the two polymer-like films.
Highlights
Poly-aryl-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) is a remarkable thermoplastic polymer marked by high bulk mechanical properties and chemical inertia
The average roughness ranges from 10.1 to 16.4 nm, the root mean square ranges from 14.3 to 21.9 nm and the developed interfacial area ratio ranges from 1.160 to 2.480 % which means that there is a clear increase in surface roughness compared with the PEEK substrate surface
After film deposition there was an increase in surface roughness and surface free energy compared with the uncoated PEEK surface
Summary
Poly-aryl-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) is a remarkable thermoplastic polymer marked by high bulk mechanical properties and chemical inertia. This polymer material has been intensively studied over the last decades, opening success on industrial applications such as mechanical bearings [1] or seals [2]. PEEK is known for its biocompatibility[3] For this reason, it is a material subjected to intensive research for biomedical applications, in particular for biomedical implants, including dental implants [4] and intervertebral disc implants [5,6,7,8]. It has been attempted to modify the surface properties of PEEK via physical and/or chemical processes in order to respond to specific needs. It is possible to increase its surface free energy via plasma treatments [11,12] or to reduce wear in a selfmating contact via a laser surface texturing [13]
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